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Category Archives: Violence against women

UNCSW 54 March 3rd

04 Thursday Mar 2010

Posted by mirahall in CEDAW, Commission on the Status of Women, female politicians, Human rights, immigrant women, In need of enlightenment, Mira Hall, motherhood, patriarchy, pay equity, poverty, status of women, UN, Violence against women, Women and politics, women leaders, Women's groups, women's issues, Young women

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Commission on the Status of Women, United Nations

This post is part of a series on the 54th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Click on a link to read further.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 8 , Part 9 , Part 10

March 3rd was the day that the United Nations Celebrated International Women’s Day. The occasion is celebrated a few days before the actual event to allow Delegates to the UN the chance to get home in time to celebrate with their communities.

I started the Day at the NGO general briefing at the Salvation Army. A South East Asian delegate asked if we could lobby for a resolution specific to women in extreme poverty and women with disability with our respective government meetings and regional caucuses. The Women’s Labour Congress also asked us to join them in their lobby for a resolution on women’s economic empowerment, and women from Arabic women’s caucus would like to see a resolution on women in occupied territories, and the general women’s labour group finished and released a draft of their open letter to the Secretary General about the long lines and poor state of the UNCSW.

After the NGO debrief I moved back to the main building and made my way to the overflow room (Conference Room 2) to watch the UN celebration of International Womens Day.

It was very nice, the Secretary General made a wonderful and engaging address. He spoke about the way that he honors women because he is a husband and a father and a grandfather. He talked about how important he felt it was for men throughout the world to recognize that violence against women is a direct violation of their inalienable human rights.

Continue reading →

The Feminist Freethinker: The December 6th Edition

07 Monday Dec 2009

Posted by RB in Day of rememberance, Dec 6, feminist freethinker, sexism, Violence against women

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December 6, feminism, Montreal Massacre, Violence against women

Image © Sandy Kowalik, Purple Ribbon Campaign Coordinator
PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women

On December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, a man name Marc Lépine entered a classroom with a gun in his hand. He ordered the male and female students to stand at opposite ends of the room. “I am fighting feminism,” Lepine said, “You’re women, you’re going to be engineers. You’re all a bunch of feminists. I hate feminists.” He then shot the women from left to right, killing six and injuring three. He then moved quickly through the rest of the school, looking for more women to shoot. In total, fourteen women were killed, ten more injured, and four men were injured. Finally he turned on the gun on himself and ended his own life. His suicide note accused feminists of ruining his life.

The Montreal Massacre dramatizes the ideological war against feminism. Problematically, most demonizations of feminism rely on a misunderstanding of what feminism actually is. Lépine was motivated by the belief that feminism was oppressive, and that, in culture, it is women who oppress men. This is a gross skewing of the most essential facts of feminism. While feminism encompasses a wide range of ideological positionalities, the uniting definition of feminism is distinctively anti-oppression: feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of sexual equality” (OED). That’s right: feminism is anchored in the ideal of equality. Feminism seeks to eliminate oppression, not to be the hand that administers it. As for Lépine’s belief that it is women who oppress men in society, just think on the fact that there were fifty men in that engineering class that day, but only nine women, and think of the Montreal Massacre as one of the countless acts of violence targeted disproportionately at women by men. Lepine’s war against feminism was saturated with a dreadful irony: he attacked feminism by re-establishing the patriarchy that was already ripe in the scene.

We at Antigone remember the women who were killed and the men and women who were injured with solemnity, sadness, anger and love. And we ask that when you encounter someone who demonizes feminism, that you invite them to think critically about their beliefs and to learn more about feminism at Feminism 101.

Feminists Who Totally Rock, Part 1

28 Wednesday Oct 2009

Posted by eyakashiro in Beauty, Feminists Who Totally Rock, I'm a feminist because, status of women, Violence against women, women leaders, Women's groups, women's issues, Young women

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Feminists Who Totally Rock

Welcome to the first post of Feminists Who Totally Rock!

Today I am pleased to present two interviews, one with Rebeca Monzo and one with Terrie Chan. Read on and enjoy!

Rebeca Monzo is one of the head co-ordinators of the Beautiful One Conference as well as an ordained minister!

What was it that inspired you to become a feminist?

To be honest I have never really thought of myself as a feminist.  That being said I have always had a strong desire to work with teen girls.  That desire was inspired by the obvious need to shine a light on the unrealistic standards and expectations that are placed on girls by pop culture. I want to encourage, empower and equip teenage girls to live their life to its potential.

What kind of work do you do?

I work with youth both in the church setting as well as in the community where I mentor teen girls and help coach a Sr. Girl’s volleyball team.  I also work with girls through the Beautiful One Conference which is a faith based yearly event designed to empower, equip and encourage teen girls.

What feminist issue is particularly important to you?

I believe that every girl should be afforded the opportunity to pursue education allowing them to achieve their goals and live out their dreams no matter where they live.

What is your dream for Women?

My dream for women is that they would be confident in who they are and live out that confidence in every area of their life.

Which unknown or young feminist would you like the world to know about?

This is a tough one.  I know a lot of strong women who are actively making a difference in the lives of girls and women.

Terrie Chan is a student at UBC Vancouver. This summer she worked for a non-governmental organization in Hong Kong called The Women’s Foundation.

1) What was it that inspired you to become a feminist?

I was inspired to become a feminist for many reasons. The most prominent reason being that women are not, no matter how many people say that we have, won our equal standing in society- or at least in Canada. There are [still] many [areas] in life that women can[not] participate fully [in], or be treated as an equal. There are also many things to be done in order to protect the safety of girls and women, or simply  to be viewed just as valuable as a male counterpart.

2) What kind of work do you do?

I try to fit in feminism in my life and to reflect this to my friends and family. Whenever I get the chance, I talk about the situation of women and girls around the world, which I think is an issue needing attention. In terms of work with credentials, I spent one month in Hong Kong this summer with an NGO named The Women’s Foundation for an internship. That was my first experience with a NGO with a focus on women and girls.

3) Which feminist issue is particularly important to you?

I am most interested in sex trafficking, domestic violence, and women within law.

4) What is your Dream for Women:

My dream for women is for all women to understand their self-worth and that it is not okay when a man treats you as his possession or simply in a bad way, and for all women to understand they deserve respect. It is my hope that all women will have that self-confidence, and that they will stop blaming themselves when a man does them harm. I also hope that women can finally see that they can be just as successful as any man or woman on the planet. Finally, I think we need to accept a norm wherein women do not feel pressured to be sexy or possess a certain ‘male trait’ to be successful. Hopefully this will allow men who have this attitude to discover something other than their present normative thinking-that women are somehow of lesser value compared to men.

Saying a Belated Goodbye to Mirlande Demers

15 Monday Sep 2008

Posted by mirahall in female politicians, Violence against women, Women and politics, women in politics, women's issues, Young women

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Mirlande Demers

 

Mirlande Demers

Mirlande Demers

 

It came to my attention today that a tremendous activist, and young woman, unexpectedly died this summer.  Mirlande Demers passed away in July this year while traveling in Indonesia of undetermined causes.

Mirlande was a member of the official delegation at the 52nd UNCSW, and was a critical force in ensuring that suggestions from the unofficial delegates were heard. She was deeply involved in activism for women’s rights, for the rights of those living with disability, and she continually and effectively worked against discrimination in all forms.

At 26, she had accomplished many things, including having volunteered in Senegal, Haiti, and El Salvador to advance the rights of women.  She had recently established an NGO called Quebec Coalition Against Discrimination.

While with her in New York, one of the things that I remember beyond her ability to be heard, and to manage negotiating and political relationships with ease, was walking for over 25 blocks trying to find a restaurant that was wheelchair accessible for her.

We had agreed that she would stay at the hotel and that we would phone her once we found an appropriate place. While walking endlessly and inspecting each restaurant over a period of hours, my feet ached, and I was increasingly horrified at the experience. I have always understood in a very abstract way that the lives of those with physical disability are difficult, however the context of that experience helped me to realize how things that seem very simple pose great difficulty for those confined to wheelchairs.

I remember that about once an hour she would phone and she would offer to just meet us after supper. I knew that she was trying not to be a burden, and I also remember how much more awful I felt when after our long search, that the only place that we could find that could accommodate her chair was a McDonalds. 

In the end she declined, and we went on to eat at a restaurant with fabulous food, and I thought of her, back at the hotel.

At any rate, this isn’t a post about pitying her, more so, that singular experience has made me appreciate that the other glamorous international volunteering, as well as the host of other things that she had managed to accomplish during her very short lifetime are that much more extraordinary to me, knowing how much difficulty she faced in simply being able to eat at a decent restaurant.

so in closing, I’m saying good-bye to this amazing young woman.  She is inspirational, and she was strong, and definitely an example to aspire to.

-Mira Hall

Peace Girl!

01 Tuesday Apr 2008

Posted by jilliangordon in Violence against women, women's issues

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Peace Girl

A Fundraiser for Northern Uganda

Thursday, 10 April 2008 – 5:00pm

Liu Institute for Global Issues, Multipurpose Room

Co-sponsored by:
UBC’s Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies
Women’s and Gender Studies Undergraduate Program
Department of Anthropology
Africa Awareness
International Relations Students Association
Liu Institute for Global Issues

Peace Girl is an action research and youth leadership initiative led
by a committed group of researchers, students and photographers.

As many conflict-affected countries transition to peace, girls forced
to become sexual slaves to rebels and military groups are left to
pick up the pieces. Many are stigmatized and forced to live alone.
Some brave girls refuse to believe this is what it means to be human.
They fight everyday for their rights and for that of their children
born of rape. Peace Girl supports them. Channelling funds to
grassroots peer support groups, it creates new opportunities for
young girls and women to take leadership roles in their communities.
Through life histories and creative communications, Peace Girl
documents their knowledge and experiences of war and identifies ways
to promote their reintegration in communities and leadership in
rebuilding their countries.

This fundraiser will feature an evening of photos, audiovisuals and
stories about girl soldiers in northern Uganda, with compelling
discussion by the project leaders.
The year 2008 will see resources directed to girls and women in
northern Uganda, where the civil war between the Lord’s Resistance
Army (LRA) and Government of Uganda has resulted in the mass
abduction of tens of thousands of girls who are forced to become
combatants and sexual slaves.

This summer, UBC alumna Letha Victor has volunteered to travel to
Uganda and conduct ethnographic research with members of grassroots
associations, collecting life histories and insights into questions
about violence, war economies, justice and reconciliation, and
political leadership. The objective is to create a newspaper article
to raise awareness of the lives of former girl soldiers and to assess
the potential of develop methods for future research.

Can’t make it? Find out how you can help by visiting us at
http://www.peacegirl.moonfruit.com

Mira Hall Reports from the UNCSW! Part 2

29 Friday Feb 2008

Posted by mirahall in Mira Hall, status of women, Violence against women

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2nd Day at the UN!

As someone who is the end product of being “the eldest sibling” in my family, combined with a long time in restaurant management who has done facilitation in groups, I find it very hard to refrain from intervening when something obviously needs help. This brings me to the poor male who was designated to facilitate a working group to come up with a recommendation for government action.

First of all, a major bone of contention throughout the workshops was the number of men who were designated as facilitators. In any other circumstance, I wouldn’t have notice, and perhaps thought that the more hard-line feminists were being petty. *HOWEVER* the status of women, internationally, is dedicated to achieving women’s equality in a male dominated world. The whole thing is an act of women’s empowerment, to encourage women to achieve equality in all aspects of life, particularly in full economic participation and in political leadership. Facilitation is a very good way for a woman to practice empowerment. At any rate, I’m getting off track, so back to the story, there was this poor man facing a room full of UNCSW delegates who clearly felt that he had no business being there to facilitate a conversation about violence against women.

Beyond the obvious challenges, the man was fairly good natured and wanted to direct the conversation in productive ways, but he unfortunately didn’t guide the conversation in a way that made it clear to the participants what we were supposed to be doing, or what aspects we were supposed to be talking about, or what end result we were looking for.

Dangerously late into the workshop, we finally got to the point of democratically trying to construct the language of the recommendation. The guy was just repeating our suggestions back to us and pointing out when he thought we were being irrelevant. So I threw up my hand and suggested (innocently enough) that he should maybe write the draft phrase on the gigantic blackboard behind him, at which point he invited me to come up and do just that, and then the former facilitator/manager/big sister came out and *I CO-FACILITATED FOR THE UN NGO ORIENTATION WORKSHOP!!!!*

I totally commandeered the facilitation. It was innocent enough in its formation, however I just couldn’t help myself and I’m so happy that I couldn’t. A lot of participants came up to me after and thanked me, and praised the job that I did. The other FAFIA delegates even heard positive buzz about the incident. So what happened to the poor guy set up for failure? We sat together during the group presentations of the recommendations, and he also thanked me for my help.

So my second day has been elating. Beyond my shining moment in the workshops, the orientation for NGOs was full of great speakers with incredible observations about the roles of academia, governments, and people embroiled on the battle grounds. There has also been great discussions surrounding the role of education in ensuring that children grow up embracing the charter of human rights. (that subject could spin me off onto a long and probably boring ramble about my favorite philosopher, Antonio Gramsci) and to finish off the day I had a final orientation meeting with FAFIA to talk about my obligations beyond being here.

All the delegates have to have submitted a draft community action plan to be reported in final form by June 20th, and at that point we can submit the action plans to apply for funding of full implementation of the plans. I’m hoping to base my action plan on addressing the structural barriers that prevent women from full integration and participation in economic life. The Status of Women is already doing a great practical job of this in their Women’s training in Oil and Gas program. I will make a 2nd draft version after I return to Yellowknife and have time to consult with the wonderful people who have acted in a mentorship capacity for me (whether they be aware of it or not.) but in essence I would like to model a micro/macro basic understanding of economics workshops for women and girls based on the Health children, Healthy Communities manual developed by the United Nations Association of Canada.

A woman that is also with the FAFIA delegation has already done such a thing and has tools that I can use. She has already used a version in Northern Manitoba with the aboriginal populations there, and has had tremendous success.

I’m very excited because I believe that the structure of work in the Territories is a large component of our exceptionally high rates of violence against women. I know that I myself have had to seriously weigh the pros of being homeless with two children, against the cons of remaining in an abusive relationship. Thankfully I had great support to come out of that situation and am thriving now, however, for many women in the north (especially if they have children) are economically dependant on romantic partners. Our income support really does not provide enough to recipients in order to maintain their basic needs.

Again, my head is spinning with information and personal stories from well established activists from all over the world, so I’m sure that my writing is going off in a million directions with every train of thought that is currently cruising through my synapses!

Thank you to everyone who has read and commented on my previous note. I am hoping to update daily, and when I return there will be pictures available. I am hoping to meet with anyone who is interested to talk about what I’ve learned here and how I envision the economic awareness workshops with full and welcoming hopes that anyone who is interested helps me to shape how these workshops will play out.

In closing, I have been actively networking and talking about the socio-economic impacts of the Diamond Mines on the population that I work with, I have spoken about the lack of infrastructure in the Territory, and how it prevents our own mobility, as well as other peoples investments. I’ve talked about our challenges around University participation of residents from outlying communities. And I have talked a lot about my view of the barriers to the participation of women in meaningful employment at livable wages. I’ve also gotten into heated debates about the importance of “cultural relevance” being included in recommendations (ie: We believe that governments, national and local, should teach people in a culturally relevant way, from the earliest stages in life onward, that violence against women is unacceptable.) The debate mainly happened between me, CANADAIAN! And a woman from Jordan, and another woman from Halifax against an American woman and an English woman. They argued that some governments could use “cultural relevance” to excuse violence, while we were arguing that as the statement was written it couldn’t, that cultural relevance was in the way that the unacceptability was taught.

In the end it was a great exercise in how difficult it is for government to come to agreements on legislation, let alone draft them in a democratic and inclusive way.

Good Night!

The Press of Trafficking

21 Monday Jan 2008

Posted by Kaitlin Blanchard in Violence against women, women's issues

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In keeping with our coverage of the phenomenon of trafficking, I direct you to this article by Simon Houpt of the Globe and Mail. My title is both a pun on the immediacy and very urgent reality of trafficking in our society, and the way in which the media helps to foster this sleeping giant (now roused).

The pervasiveness of trafficking is only too evident throughout Houpt’s discussion, because as he astutely observes, even the “health & Fitness” section of New York Magazine is littered with ads for spas whose hours are outside of the normal spa customer’s regime.

Houpt’s article chronicle’s NOW’s fight to pressure the major New York magazines to eliminate their sex-industry ads–a difficult fight indeed given the millions of dollars in revenue such ads provide to the magazines.

Nonetheless, over the past months various publications have made promises to withdraw these ads:

The sex seems to be disappearing from the city.

Over the last few months, advertisements for what are euphemistically referred to as “adult services” have been vanishing from New York’s weekly newspapers and glossy magazines. In August, the alternative newsweekly New York Press announced it was dropping ads for escorts, models and “classy, sensual ladies.” And just three weeks ago, New York magazine marked the new year by eliminating the small but lucrative Adult category in its back-of-the-book Marketplace section.

The moves by both publications came after pressure from a local chapter of the National Organization of Women as part of a campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking. NOW says trafficking isn’t just an abstract event unfolding in some ruined paradise halfway around the globe. Citing a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice that JFK Airport is a major hub for trafficking, it notes that a number of brothels busted over the last couple of years in the city had been operating on the backs of illegal immigrants smuggled into the country and kept virtually enslaved. The ads, NOW insists, are an integral part of that illegal economy.

The organization’s efforts led Governor Eliot Spitzer to pass statewide anti-trafficking legislation in June, emboldening NOW to begin targeting publications around town. “We try to make them understand how [yanking the ads] doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” Sonia Ossorio, the president of NOW NYC, told me last week. “If you have high-end retailers like Tiffany’s, they don’t want to be next to Hot Asian Honeys.” NOW estimates the ads were worth about half a million dollars annually to New York, and perhaps twice that to The Village Voice.

New York was initially unmoved by NOW’s aesthetic and moral arguments, telling the Times in a statement: “If ever the authorities bring evidence of illegal activity behind any of our ads to our attention, we will take immediate action to remove the ad – and the advertiser – from our magazine permanently.” But in early November, two days before a threatened protest by NOW’s sign-wielding masses outside New York’s Madison Avenue offices, the magazine pre–emptively agreed to pull all such ads by Jan. 1.

Houpt further observes that perhaps the best places to start in the fight against trafficking via advertising are ethnic newspapers:

And if human trafficking is the target, the city’s ethnic newspapers might be a better place to start. One brothel busted in March, 2006, where dozens of Korean women were being kept, had been advertising in The World Journal, the largest Mandarin-language paper in the country. “We’re not able to monitor it as closely as we’d like,” admitted Ossorio. “We need to find people who can help us read it.”

Indeed, they do need help. Regardless of the fact that the sex industry does make some women money independent of exploitation and abuse (though I think this is debatable), rescuing those women who are trapped as objects of the sex trade requires that the entire industry come under attack since clearly the institution as it is does not define the boundaries between ‘object’ and objective… As Ossario observes: “I’m not trying to cause them any harm. But you can’t separate trafficking from the sex industry, because trafficking is a part of the sex industry.” Human trafficking is our reality and it should not be ignored…

Women Around the World Beaten and Abused…

07 Friday Dec 2007

Posted by antigonemagazine in Day of rememberance, Dec 6, Oxfam, UN, Violence against women

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Given that yesterday was a Day of Action and Remembrance for Violence Against Women and that we are currently in the middle of a UN world action campaign to end violence against women, I thought I would bring your attention to these articles and statistics about rape and abuse of women around the world, starting with our own country:

From Canada:

In the seven years between 2000 and 2006, the number of women killed by their partners and former partners was 500 — more than 70 a year and five times as many as the total number of Canadian frontline military and police deaths in the same time.

Dec. 6 still matters because women in Canada still experience violence in appalling numbers. Not only are women killed in shocking numbers but tens of thousands more are battered and beaten, emotionally abused and sexually assaulted — 100,000 women and their children use battered women’s shelters every year in this country.

From Niger:

The news that 70 percent of women in parts of Niger find it normal that their husbands, fathers and brothers regularly beat, rape and humiliate them came as no surprise to human rights experts in Niger.

“Women here have been indoctrinated by their families, by religious officials, by society that this is a normal phenomenon,” said Lisette Quesnel, a gender-based violence advisor with Oxfam in Niger, which produced the statistic from a survey of women in the remote Zinder region of eastern Niger in 2006.

The frequency of the crimes and the impunity granted to the attackers partly explain the broad social acceptance of it, activists say.

Rape is not illegal under Nigerien law and according to Oxfam it is “increasingly common” in the capital Niamey.

Beatings and mental and physical abuse are “frequently” part of life in a typical Nigerien polygamous family, Oxfam says.

And women are often made destitute overnight when their polygamous husbands throw them out on the street. Divorces are passed by judges without even hearing “one word” from the women involved.

From Iran’s We Change coalition of women working to garner one million signatures to encourage their government to create more equitable laws for women.

Political party members! Parliament members! Artists! Athletes! Keyhan Newspaper! University Professors! Leftists! Conservatives! Government Supporters! Opposition groups! Gather around so I can tell you what happens to your sisters and mothers in the backrooms of their homes because of the law of Obligatory Sexual Obedience (Tamkin). I want to tell you that when your daughter was 9 months pregnant and her husband forcefully slept with her and she had to go to the hospital, she couldn’t tell you and she couldn’t tell the court because she had to be sexually obedient.

From Palestine:

Female victims of domestic violence here have little chance of escaping their situation or bringing the perpetrators to justice as they face a legal system stacked in favour of the accused. Moreover, many women who have been raped are killed by family members in “honour killings” for having “brought shame” to their family.

A Human Rights Watch report released last year said: “Palestinian women in violent or life-threatening marriages have two legal options available to them: pressing charges for spousal abuse or initiating a divorce on the basis of physical harm.” However, “neither Jordanian nor Egyptian penal codes in force in the West Bank and Gaza recognise sexual violence within marriage,” HRW said. –

From China

Domestic violence is widespread and on the rise in China, where complaints of abuse soared 70% last year, state media says, citing a women’s advocacy group.The All China Women’s Federation received 50 000 complaints last year, and the “number of cases (has increased) in recent years”, the China Daily quoted Jiang Yu’e, head of the group’s rights and interests department as saying.

“The increase indicates that domestic violence is widespread in China and women’s awareness of safeguarding their rights and interests has been improved with reinforced publicity by relevant institutions,” Jiang said. Women in rural areas, especially those who had gone to work in cities, were particularly susceptible.

“Female migrant workers are restricted in accessing legal assistance as they are constantly on the move,” Jiang said. Rising domestic abuse had also resulted in more women “fighting violence with violence”. A recent study of provincial prisons showed that about 46% of female inmates had been past victims of domestic abuse.

“Police and government agencies have begun to make joint efforts to address the problem,” Jiang said. Police needed to do more to encourage women to speak out in China, where traditional ideas about keeping family problems private remained strong.

From Iraq

At least 27 women have died in so-called “honour killings” over the past four months in northern Kurdish Iraq. Aziz Mohammed, human rights minister in the Kurdish regional government, said 97 women had attempted to commit suicide by self-immolation during this time.The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq has regularly highlighted “honour killings” of Kurdish women as among Iraq’s most severe human rights abuses.

Most of such crimes are reported as deaths due to accidental fires in the home.Aso Kamal, a 42-year-old British Kurdish Iraqi campaigner, says that from 1991 to 2007, 12 500 women were murdered for reasons of “honour” or committed suicide in the three Kurdish provinces of Iraq.

Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region runs its own affairs and has enjoyed relative peace and growing prosperity since the US invasion of March 2003, while Arab areas of Iraq have been plunged into sectarian warfare.Crimes against women continue despite campaigns by human rights activists and regular denounciation of the oppression by the three women ministers and 28 female MPs in the 111-member autonomous Kurdish parliament. – Sapa-AFP

From the United States

More than 300 000 children are being sexually exploited in the United States, according to a new study.Many of them end up in Atlanta, which authorities say has become a hub for prostitution. Many are lured into prostitution by pimps who exploit the fears and low self-esteem of young girls who often come from dysfunctional families.

Now Atlanta law enforcement intends to spur new efforts to crack down on child predators.Prosecutors have started to bring felony rather than misdemeanour charges against men who use child prostitutes, and a 52-bed centre for sexually exploited girls will open this year to help girls emerging from prostitution. – Reuters

From Singapore

More than half of those queried in Singapore believe family violence is a private affair that will eventually stop by itself. And experts have called for increased public education campaigns.Those interviewed represented 1 015 people of all races in the city-state between 18 and 64.

A third of the respondents still believed that most family violence will stop on its own and that an abused spouse had a duty to stay in a marriage for the sake of a young child. About one in five said physical violence was a part of married life. Ten percent said they would not report an abusive spouse to authorities. Violence against children and the elderly was seen as unacceptable by nine in 10. – Sapa-DPA

UN Works to Eliminate Violence Against Women….

27 Tuesday Nov 2007

Posted by antigonemagazine in Violence against women

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Well, it’s about time that someone make this a priority! UNIFEM is launching an online petition to get people’s signatures so that they can show governments around the world that this is a political priority. Please go sigh the petition!

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 26 (Reuters) – The United Nations women’s agency launched a campaign on Monday backed by actress Nicole Kidman to gather signatures on an Internet petition rejecting violence against women and urging action to stop it.The launch of the petition titled “Say NO to violence against women,” (www.saynotoviolence.org), is part of a 16-day U.N.-backed campaign to raise awareness about the issue and urge governments to make eliminating such violence a priority.

Joanne Sandler, acting head of the U.N. Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, said she hoped for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of signatures to add weight to calls for concrete measures to be taken by governments.

Kidman, an Australian who is a goodwill ambassador for UNIFEM, did not attend the launch at U.N. headquarters but said in a statement she was among the first to sign, calling violence against women, “an appalling human rights violation.”UNIFEM said statistics indicate that as many as one in three women will experience violence in her lifetime, whether it be domestic violence, genital mutilation, human trafficking or systematic rape in conflict zones. (Written by Claudia Parsons; editing by David Wiessler)

UN Works to Eliminate Violence Against Women….

27 Tuesday Nov 2007

Posted by Amanda in Violence against women

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Well, it’s about time that someone make this a priority! UNIFEM is launching an online petition to get people’s signatures so that they can show governments around the world that this is a political priority. Please go sigh the petition!

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 26 (Reuters) – The United Nations women’s agency launched a campaign on Monday backed by actress Nicole Kidman to gather signatures on an Internet petition rejecting violence against women and urging action to stop it.The launch of the petition titled “Say NO to violence against women,” (www.saynotoviolence.org), is part of a 16-day U.N.-backed campaign to raise awareness about the issue and urge governments to make eliminating such violence a priority.

Joanne Sandler, acting head of the U.N. Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, said she hoped for hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of signatures to add weight to calls for concrete measures to be taken by governments.

Kidman, an Australian who is a goodwill ambassador for UNIFEM, did not attend the launch at U.N. headquarters but said in a statement she was among the first to sign, calling violence against women, “an appalling human rights violation.”UNIFEM said statistics indicate that as many as one in three women will experience violence in her lifetime, whether it be domestic violence, genital mutilation, human trafficking or systematic rape in conflict zones. (Written by Claudia Parsons; editing by David Wiessler)

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